Monday, 5 July 2010

77 Ronnie Moore

Position : Forward (also played at centre half)

Played : 1985-6

Appearances : 43

Goals : 9

Ronnie was a vastly experienced 32 - year old centre forward signed from Charlton Athletic. He had first made his name at Tranmere in the 1970s scoring 72 goals in 249 appearances. In 1979 he transferred to Cardiff where he endured the leanest spell of his career then on to Rotherham (playing alongside Vic Halom) where he enjoyed his best (52 in 125) . He is regularly re-confirmed as the club’s best ever player. He then moved to Charlton for a couple of seasons before arriving at Dale.

Ronnie was a little past his best but still a handful for Fourth Division defences and he created the space for Steve Taylor to thrive while still getting a few goals himself. The most notable was the winner in the replay against Scunthorpe which took us to Old Trafford. Ronnie was prevented from reaching double figures in the League by the man he’d displaced, Barry Diamond. When Joe Cooke was sent off for decking Diamond, Ronnie took his place at the back for the rest of the game and did well. When we went to Old Trafford he played at sweeper and looked comfortable. That then became his position for the rest of the season, Halom playing five at the back even against poor teams at home. The goals dried up and Dale slid down the table amid rumours of dressing room discontent but still Halom persevered with the formation as a promising season went down the plughole.

At the end of the season Ronnie was allowed to rejoin Tranmere as player-coach to cut the wage bill. He played on until 1989 chalking up another 75 appearances. He has of course gone on to be a successful manager with Southport, Oldham, Tranmere and particularly Rotherham where he is currently in charge for the second time.